Second Nokia Windows Phone - Still lovin' it.

liverdonor has owned it for more than one year before publishing this review

The title says most of it.

This is my second windows phone. When I first got it I put it through its paces while I could still return it (VZN gives you a 30-day period in which if you're deeply unsatisfied, you can return the phone). I took pictures in bright sunlight and movies in the dark. I recorded outdoor concerts and used the speakerphone from a moving train. I did just about everything I could to test the phone, and my conclusion: with one notable exception, I like it even better than my earlier 822 (which I had for two years prior).

The phone looks cool. It's still small enough to hold, but has a bright, easily-viewable full-HD display. The camera is simply awesome - one of only 3 phones on the market with a backside-illuminated sensor, and the 4-mic audio pickup is quite amazing, especially at concerts or outdoor events.

In short, this is a brilliant phone with very few drawbacks (which I'll mention, below).

Build quality9/10

Reception8/10

Call quality9/10

Internet9/10

Multimedia9/10

Camera10/10

UI speed9/10

Everyday usage8/10

Text input9/10

Display8/10

Battery7/10

Pros

Camera (awesome)

Audio, especially 4-mic recording and the 7-band equalizer.

Call quality and the RF section. This phone hangs on to the channel by its bloody fingernails. Very impressive for a smartphone - most of them suck when compared to feature phones.

Hey Cortana! 'Nuff said. Makes Siri look dumb by comparison.

It's not an iPhone, nor Android.

Several decent FLAC and OGG players are available. Tried all the ones available on my Android tablet, none of them come close to the two I've used on the Icon.

Very fast response times. Even going out to the web for things is faster than my Android tablet and my kid's Android-based phone.

Oh, and BTW - It's not as much of an

Cons

OLED display doesn't allow "Glance" feature, which worked great on my old Lumia 822. This is really annoying.

Battery life. I'm sure you've heard this before. Take an external recharge battery and a car charger with you on trips, you'll need them.

It might be too big for people with small hands; my wife has trouble using it.

My first smartphone was an Android, and I've been hooked on google since. I have a chromebook, nexus 7, iPad, and always had an Android phone... until now. Even with the new KitKat update, I was still experiencing lag when unlocking my phone, opening the app drawer, opening the gallery, making a call, hanging up on a call, opening messaging, etc. After 6 years of android, I was starting to get tired of it and started to explore my options.

iPhone option: I know that iOS is stable with no lag (I have an iPad), but it is so much more boring than android (no widgets, lack of customization, etc.).

Blackberry option. Laugh and move on.

Android option. Galaxy S5 almost got me to bite. Great device, but looks ugly, and I know that after a year, it will be lagging just as bad as my current android phone because its packed with 9239848 features that I will never use.

Windows option: Nokia Lumia Icon - Played around with windows phone 8 and got depressed... it sucked. Thought I was going to be forced to chose between iPhone 5S and Galaxy S5 for features and functionality. Then I read about WP 8.1 - and REALLY glad that I did. Basically WP 8.1 is like iOS and Android had a baby. It has the stability of iOS, the customization of Android, with the capability of Microsoft Office when you need it. The app gap is largely a joke now. Yes WP is behind, but it has all the apps that I need, every single one. Bought the Icon and haven't looked back! There isn't a single app or feature...

My first smartphone was an Android, and I've been hooked on google since. I have a chromebook, nexus 7, iPad, and always had an Android phone... until now. Even with the new KitKat update, I was still experiencing lag when unlocking my phone, opening the app drawer, opening the gallery, making a call, hanging up on a call, opening messaging, etc. After 6 years of android, I was starting to get tired of it and started to explore my options.

iPhone option: I know that iOS is stable with no lag (I have an iPad), but it is so much more boring than android (no widgets, lack of customization, etc.).

Blackberry option. Laugh and move on.

Android option. Galaxy S5 almost got me to bite. Great device, but looks ugly, and I know that after a year, it will be lagging just as bad as my current android phone because its packed with 9239848 features that I will never use.

Windows option: Nokia Lumia Icon - Played around with windows phone 8 and got depressed... it sucked. Thought I was going to be forced to chose between iPhone 5S and Galaxy S5 for features and functionality. Then I read about WP 8.1 - and REALLY glad that I did. Basically WP 8.1 is like iOS and Android had a baby. It has the stability of iOS, the customization of Android, with the capability of Microsoft Office when you need it. The app gap is largely a joke now. Yes WP is behind, but it has all the apps that I need, every single one. Bought the Icon and haven't looked back! There isn't a single app or feature that I miss on my Android phone.

Oh, and the camera is PHENOMENAL! 20 megapixels allows for great loss-less zoom, the larger sensor gives great bokeh and depth of field, and the Nokia camera apps smoke everything else out there - easy to use and extremely powerful. 4 mic set up allows for class leading noise cancellation and superior audio for all your videos!

I'm also glad that I don't look like an iSheep or a SAMEsung like everyone else out there - phone simply looks amazing in white with black front, aluminum sides, and curved glass display! Great job NOKIA! Love my new phone!

Cons

All camera, no smarts

Dadler22 has owned it for less than 3 months before publishing this review

Thank god I purchased this phone on Verizon Edge. Those without the money to purchase a new phone after a few months of suffrage should just avoid windows phone all together. Unfortunately for Nokia build quality can only take a phone so far...

Build quality10/10

Reception10/10

Call quality9/10

Internet1/10Internet explorer struggles to open most web pages, back key always creates problems, no alternatives

Multimedia4/10No Spotify, only app that works is XBOX music, which is pathetic

Camera7/10Low light settings are great for taking pictures other phones cant. However, photos don't look as great on the computer as they did on the phone screen

UI speed10/10UI works quickly, sadly its not capable of doing much.

Everyday usage4/10Works great for phone calls, text messages, and emails. No app support means the rest of my tasks have to just be foregone.

Powerful with great camera

atomicinternet has owned it for less than 3 months before publishing this review

Despite losing my Xenon flash from the Lumia 928 I upgraded from, this camera more than makes up for it with the higher resolution and decent LED flash. The aluminum band around the edge gives it a high quality build feel and the phone itself is solid physically and operationally.

Build quality10/10Feels solid

Reception10/10No issues with reception anywhere

Call quality10/10no issues with call quality

Internet10/10Browser is fast and reliable

Multimedia10/10Has all my media apps, stores enough MP3s for me.

Camera9/10Wish it had a Xenon flash, otherwise perfect.

UI speed10/10I've yet to own a Windows Phone that didn't have a lightning fast UI

Everyday usage10/10

Text input10/10Keyboard rocks

Display10/10Amazing in and out of sunlight

Battery8/102340 mAh is a big battery, but with a screen this size it should be bigger.

Pros

Cons

Best

utg001 has owned it for less than 3 months before publishing this review

Its a great phone if you can get through the day with a full charge. I didn't much like the shape of it, but the pros outweigh the cons.
currently the best Windows Phone out!
I presume with the Windows Phone 8.1 around the corner, the battery issue might be resolved along with some minor bugs when music files duplicate.

Build quality8/10too boxy, but still Nokia

Reception10/10What you should expect from a great flagship

Call quality10/10What you should expect from a great flagship

Internet10/10Larger screen is a plus

Multimedia9/10great handling of multimedia although adding files can be troublesome sometimes

Pros

Cons

Best Windows phone yet

gahess1 has owned it for less than 3 months before publishing this review

I've had two iphones, an android, and three windows phones. This is the best of the bunch. So fast/responsive, the camera is amazing, battery great. All the apps I need are available now. Overall great phone!

Pros

Cons

Ehhh... I think not...

tommybayshore has owned it for less than month before publishing this review

I've always had the latest and greatest phones, recently i damaged my Note 3 and decided to give the shiny cool Nokia Lumia Icon a try... i must admit, in the store and just playing around with it for a few minutes it seemed great, even going home and reading numerous reviews made me think this may be a really awesome phone...so i went and bought it! And quickly returned it...here is why...

The live tiles are cool and i could get used to them, but thats about it. The lack of apps in the app store was really rough, and they popular apps that are in the store are outdated looking and remind of the how bad Facebook looked on the BlackBerry Bold. The "People" section was just a complete mess, updates from LinkedIN, Facebook, this, that, everywhere... most from sources i could completely care less about, even when i unchecked the sources they still managed to come back. Then when you click on a update you don't know if you're going to Linkedin, Facebook, Google etc... just shows you a picture with a bunch of comments.

The email formatting was also a mess, you have to click "show pictures" on EACH email, there is no default setting to make this happen for every email. I get a ton of emails and its annoying to have to click "show pictures" in every email.

The battery was not that great either. I had it fully charged at 7AM, left for the day, was on WIFI almost all day and by 4PM i had 28% battery left.

The call quality was great, that i did like, but i use my phone for so...

I've always had the latest and greatest phones, recently i damaged my Note 3 and decided to give the shiny cool Nokia Lumia Icon a try... i must admit, in the store and just playing around with it for a few minutes it seemed great, even going home and reading numerous reviews made me think this may be a really awesome phone...so i went and bought it! And quickly returned it...here is why...

The live tiles are cool and i could get used to them, but thats about it. The lack of apps in the app store was really rough, and they popular apps that are in the store are outdated looking and remind of the how bad Facebook looked on the BlackBerry Bold. The "People" section was just a complete mess, updates from LinkedIN, Facebook, this, that, everywhere... most from sources i could completely care less about, even when i unchecked the sources they still managed to come back. Then when you click on a update you don't know if you're going to Linkedin, Facebook, Google etc... just shows you a picture with a bunch of comments.

The email formatting was also a mess, you have to click "show pictures" on EACH email, there is no default setting to make this happen for every email. I get a ton of emails and its annoying to have to click "show pictures" in every email.

The battery was not that great either. I had it fully charged at 7AM, left for the day, was on WIFI almost all day and by 4PM i had 28% battery left.

The call quality was great, that i did like, but i use my phone for so much more than just a phone it just wasnt worth it to me. I think someone like my Dad (75 years old) or a teenager MAY like this phone. But coming from a Note 3, or even a S4 you will be sadly disappointed. PS: The camera was clunky, slow and had a awful blueish /yellow tint to the pictures that i took.

Cons

Great phone you should consider it.

fandows has owned it for less than month before publishing this review

I love this phone. If anyone is a Verizon customer and is looking for a new phone this one will not disappoint. And until march 16 if you order this phone from a Microsoft store you will get a free Nokia wireless charger. I've wanted this phone since it started leaking back in November. The cons of this phone are rather unimportant though.

Build quality10/10

Reception10/10

Call quality10/10

Internet8/10

Multimedia10/10

Camera10/10

UI speed10/10

Everyday usage10/10

Text input10/10

Display10/10

Battery8/10

Pros

1080p 5 inch amoled screen 441ppi

20 megapixel camera with dual flash and 2 'megapixel front camera

Built in wireless charging(not included)

4 Microphones for optimal sound recording

Windows phone 8 and Nokia black but that's just my opinion

Snapdragon 800 processor 2.2 ghz

Support for ac wifi which is rather new and yes it has 5ghz wifi

Quick access to camera button

Comes with full Microsoft office for windows phone 8

Built in fm radio which is cool

A lot of hany widgets such as alarms are pre installed

Easy access SIM card

Cons

Camera does not have 4k recording

No micro sd expansion slot

For some reason the battery is terrible I can't figure out why but I think it's a software problem

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